The invention is concerned with an equipment for transporting and handling weft-yarn stock bobbins as well as for feeding them to bobbin frames on looms and for carrying away empty bobbin tubes from the bobbin frames.
The invention is further concerned with a method of operation of the equipment.
In the case of an equipment of the aforesaid kind known from the DE-OS 34 13 681, bobbin holders charged with stock bobbins and bobbin tubes are arranged in a closed transport loop which is led by one transport section along the bobbin frames of one group of looms arranged in a row, one storage section branching off from this transport section being associated with each of the looms. When all of the storage sections have been filled with a predetermined number of charged bobbin holders, access to the storage sections from the transport section beside the looms is blocked, whereupon further bobbin holders charged with stock bobbins and lying in the transport section beside the looms, circulate in a constant rotation round the transport loop without being brought into the storage section. Accordingly, in the case of the known equipment, a relatively large number of stock bobbins is in rotation at any time. In the case of an equipment of that kind in which under certain circumstances stock bobbins run round a number of times, the risk exists that the bobbins, in particular the turns of yarn wound onto them, will be damaged and/or soiled. In the case of the known arrangement with the storage sections associated one per loom, a feed of stock bobbins wound with different kinds of yarn to match the needs of individual looms, especially in the case of multicolour weaving operation, demands a relatively elaborate loom-related planning in order to place ready in the individual storage sections a combination of the different stock bobbins to correspond with the need of bobbins at the time, since correction of the preselected sequence of bobbins is not possible. In the case of installations having a number of groups of looms arranged in rows, the known arrangement would demand a relatively elaborate transport system in which one transport section in constant rotation, with a number of storage sections associated one per loom, is associated with each of the groups of looms.
The problem underlying the invention is to create an equipment of the kind, which is improved in this respect, is simple to operate, takes good care of the stock bobbins ,and is of simplified construction as compared with known devices, and which though needing relatively little room enables loading of the looms with stock bobbins to match their needs and may be automated in a simple way.